Binder fixture

ABSTRACT

A binder fixture suitable for use in loose leaf notebooks and in which the binder loops are formed in segments with half the segments mounted on a stationary base plate and the other matching half mounted on a slide plate mounted for sliding movement transversely of the base plate. The slide plate is cam actuated by a cam bar slidably mounted in the base plate and having pins projecting upwardly through the base plate into cam grooves in the lower surface of a slide plate. The base plate is provided with T-shaped rails which are received in T-shaped slots in the lower surface of the base plate to guide the slide plate during sliding movement thereof.

United States Patent Seaborn Sept. 3, 1974 [54] BINDER FIXTURE 250,338 4/1964 Australia 402/47 [75] Inventor: Paul E. Seaborn, Los Gatos, Calif.

. Primar Examiner-Jerome Schnall [73] Asslgnee: Mead Corporatmn Dayton Attornei Agent, or Firm-Biebel, French & Bugg [22] Filed: Aug. 1, 9173 [57] ABSTRACT 21 Appl. No.2 384,458

A binder fixture suitable for use in loose leaf notebooks and in which the binder loops are formed in Elks-CC]!- Segments h Segments mounted on a i y base plate and the other matching mounted 1 o earc 0 5 47 on a slide plate mounted for sliding movement transversely of the base plate. The slide plate is cam actu- [56] References Clted ated by a cam bar slidably mounted in the base plate UNITED STATES PATENTS and having pins projecting upwardly through the base 724,849 4/1903 Gresham 402/56 plate into cam grooves in the lower surface of a slide 763,176 6/1904 Gresham et a1. 402/56 plate. The base plate is provided with T-shaped rails 788,023 4/ 1905 Couch et al. 402/56 which are received in T-shaped slots in the lower sur- 2,000,184 5/1935 Lotter 402/56 face of the base plate to guide the Slide plate d i 2,211,546 8/1940 Rabmof 402/56 Sliding movement thereofi FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 41,749 11 /1913 Sweden 402/56 8 6 Drawmg Flgures BINDER FIXTURE BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Probably the most common type of loose leaf binder is one in which the binder loops or rings are formed in segments which separate with a more or less pivoting action to allow sheets to be added or removed to or from the binder. Other types of loose leaf binders, however, are constructed with one or both halves of the binder loops mounted for transverse sliding movement.

For example, US. Pat. No. 788,023 discloses a binder in which the segments which make up the binder loops are mounted on two portions, a stationary member and one which is slidably movable with respect to the other in a transverse direction. The slidable member is provided with grooves in an upper surface thereof and a controlling bar having pairs of fingers received in the grooves of the upper surface of the slide member and additional fingers received in a groove in the stationary member inparts transverse sliding movement to the slidable member through a camming action.

Some additional patents of interest in this area are U.S. Pat. Nos. 724,849 and 2,211,546, both of which show additional types of slidable binder construction.

It would appear that prior art structure of this general type, however, are intended to be constructed of a series of interconnected metallic parts, which may then be bolted, crimped or otherwise secured together. While such structures may be satisfactorily manufactured in this manner, they are not readily adapted to being constructed by modern molding techniques using various synthetic resinous materials.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In accordance with the present invention a binder fixture is provided consisting mainly of three slidably interfitting parts which can be molded using modern injection molding techniques particularly adapted to modern synthetic resinous materials such as polypropelene and a combination of acrylonetrele, butadiene and styrene known as ABS. For a more complete description of the latter see Modern Plastics Encyclopedia, Vol. 46, No. lOA, October, 1969, p. 76 et seq.

The binder fixture includes a stationary base plate having a series of substantially T-shaped rails extending across an upper surface thereof, a channel formed in a lower surface thereof and a pair of slots extending through the base plate at the channel.

A longitudinally extending cam bar is slidably received in the channel in the lower surface of the base plate and has a pair of pins projecting upwardly through the slots extending through the base plate.

A slide plate has a series of T-shaped slots formed in its lower surface which are complementary to and in engagement with the T-shaped rails formed on the upper surface of the base plate, thereby permitting transverse sliding movement of the slide plate on the base plate.

The lower surface of the slide plate is also provided with cam grooves which receive the pins projecting upwardly through the slots in the base plate. The cam grooves in the slide plate have a first portion which is angularly disposed with respect to the axes of the slide plate and a second portion, which serves as a lock portion extending parallel to the longitudinal axis of the slide plate. The base plate and the slide plate each have upwardly and inwardly projecting binder loop segments which cooperate when the slide plate is in the closed position to define binder loops.

Sliding action of the slide plate on the base plate is obtained by sliding the cam bar in the channel in the lower surface of the base plate, causing the pins projecting upwardly through the slots in the base plate and received in the cam grooves in the lower surface of the slide plate to move the slide plate between open and closed positions. Once the slide plate has moved to the closed position continued movement of the cam bar will cause the pins thereon to enter that portion of the grooves in the slide plate which extend longitudinally thereof, locking the slide plate in the closed position.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the binder fixture of the present invention attached to a binder cover with the fastener in its closed position;

FIG. 2 is a view similar to FIG. 1 but showing the binder fixture in the open position;

FIG. 3 is a view taken on line 33 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a view taken on line 4-4 of FIG. 2',

FIG. 5 is an exploded perspective view of the present invention; and

FIG. 6 is a view taken on line 66 of FIG. 1.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT With reference initially to FIG. 5 of the drawings, it will be seen that the binder fixture 10 of the present invention consists of only three parts, a stationary base plate 12, a slide plate 14 and a cam bar 16.

The base plate 12 is provided with an elongated channel 18 formed in the lower surface 19 of the base plate and extending from one end 20 thereof to a point short of the opposite end 22. A pair of longitudinally spaced slots 24 are formed through the base plate at the channel 18. Additionally, a plurality of curved binder loop segments 26, three being shown for purposes of illustration, extend upwardly and inwardly from the top of the base plate 12.

The slide plate 14 has a pair of cam grooves 28 formed in the lower surface 30 thereof and each cam groove 28 includes an angularly disposed camming portion 32 and a longitudinally extending locking portion 34. It will also be noted that the slide plate 14 is provided with a plurality of curved binder loop segments 36 extending upwardly and inwardly thereof with each binder loop segment-36 being provided with an inwardly projecting socket portion 38 adapted to engage a complementary portion 39 on the binder loop segment 26, as seen, for example, in FIG. 2.

The cam bar 16 is provided with a handle 40 adjacent one end thereof which is adapted to project outwardly of the base member, as best seen in FIGS. 1 and 2 of the drawings. Additionally, and with reference to FIG.

5 of the drawings, it will be seen that a pair of cam fol- The assembly of the base and slide plates and cam bar 16 is attached to a binder cover 46 by means of rivets or the like 48, and in this regard, it will be noted that the lower surface 30 of the slide plate 14 is provided with notches 50 adjacent each end thereof which accommodate the heads of the rivets projecting above the upper surface 44 of the base plate 12. It will also be noted that attaching the binder fixture to the cover 46 confines the cam bar 16 within the channel 18, while permitting sliding movement of the cam bar longitudinally thereof.

With reference to FIGS. 2, 4 and 5 of the drawings, it will also be seen that the upper surface 44 of the base plate 12 is provided with substantially T-shaped rails 52 slidably received in complementary shaped T-shaped slots 54 formed in the lower surface of the slide plate 14, with the slots and rails serving as guide means during slidable movement of the plate 14.

In operation it will be seen that with the binder fixture in the closed position shown in FIG. 1 of the drawings if it is desired to open the binder to the position shown in FIG. 2 it is necessary merely to grasp the handle 40 of the cam bar 16 and slide it downwardly, as seen in FIGS. 1 and 2, causing the pins 42 received in the portions 32 of the grooves 28 to slide the plate 14 to the right, as seen in FIG. 2 of the drawings.

Thereafter, when it is desired to close the binder fixture, the cam bar 16 is moved upwardly from the position shown in FIG. 2 to that shown in FIG. 1, with initial upward movement of cam bar 16 causing the slide bar 14 to move to a closed position and additional movement of the cam bar 16 causing the pins 42 to engage portions 34 of the grooves 28, locking the slide and base plates together with the complementary socket portions 38 and 39 on the distal ends of the binder segments in engagement with each other.

From the above it will be seen that the present invention provides a binder fixture which operates with a positive opening, closing and locking action and which may be readily fabricated from synthetic resinous materials such as polypropelene or ABS using modern injection molding techniques.

While the form of apparatus herein described constitutes a preferred embodiment of the invention, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to this precise form of apparatus, and that changes may be made therein without departing from the scope of the invention.

What is claimed is:

1. A binder fixture comprising:

a. a stationary base plate having upper and lower surfaces,

b. a plurality of binder loop segments projecting upwardly and inwardly from said base plate,

0. means defining a channel in said lower surface of said base plate extending longitudinally thereof,

(1. a cam bar slidably received in said channel in said base plate,

e. cam follower means projecting upwardly from an upper surface of said cam bar through elongated slots in said base plate above said upper surface thereof, means for sliding said cam bar in said channel,

f. a slide plate having upper and lower surfaces,

g. cam groove means formed in said lower surface of said slide plate extending angularly with respect to the longitudinal axis thereof and receiving said cam follower means,

h. interengaging guide means formed on opposing upper and lower surfaces of said base and slide plates and guiding sliding movement of said slide plate transversely of said base plate, and

i. upwardly and inwardly projecting binder loop segments mounted on said slide plate and cooperating with said binder loop segments on said base plate to define closed binder loops when said slide plate is in a closed position whereby sliding said cam bar in opposite directions, said cam follower means engages said cam groove means to move said slide plate transversely relative to said base plate and to move the binder loop segments on the respective plates towards each other to said closed position or away from each other to an open position.

2. The binder fixture of claim 1 wherein:

a. said plates are formed of a synthetic resinous material.

3. The binder fixture of claim 2 wherein:

a. said synthetic resinous material is selected from a group consisting'of polypropelene and ABS.

4. The binder fixture of claim 3 wherein:

a. said synthetic resinous material is ABS.

5. The binder fixture of claim 1 wherein said interengaging guide means comprises:

a. a plurality of transversely extending rails formed on said upper surface of said base plate and extending transversely thereof, and

b. a plurality of complementary slots formed on said lower surface of said slide plate in engagement with said rails.

6. The binder fixture of claim 5 wherein:

a. said rails are of substantially T-shaped configuration, and

b. said slots formed in said lower surface of said slide plate are of complementary T-shaped cross sectional configuration.

7. The binder fixture of claim 1 wherein said cam groove means comprises:

a. a camming portion extending angularly with respect to the longitudinal axes of said base and slide plates, and

b. a locking portion extending parallel to the axes of said base and slide plates.

8. A binder fixture comprising:

a. an elongated stationary base plate having opposed upper and lower surfaces,

b. a plurality of curved binder loop segments projecting upwardly and inwardly from said base plate, c. means defining a channel in said lower surface of said base plate extending longitudinally thereof from one end of said base plate to a point spaced from the opposite end thereof,

d. means defining a pair of longitudinally spaced slots extending through said base plate at said channel,

e. an elongated cam bar having a thickness approximately equal to the depth of said channel slidably received in said channel with one end of said bar projecting outwardly of said channel at said one end of said base plate,

f. means defining a handle projecting from said one end of said cam bar,

g. a pair of cam follower pins projecting upwardly from an upper surface of said cam bar through said spaced slots in said base plate and terminating above said upper surface of said base plate,

h. a binder cover,

i. fastening means attaching said binder cover to said lower surface of said base plate and confining said cam bar in said channel formed in said lower surface of said base plate,

j. a plurality of substantially T-shaped rails extending transversely of said base plate on said upper surface thereof,

k. an elongated slide plate having opposed upper and lower surfaces,

1. said plates being formed of ABS,

m. means defining substantially T-shaped slots formed in said lower surface of said slide plate extending transversely thereof and slidably receiving said substantially T-shaped rails on said upper surface of said base plate,

n. a pair of cam grooves formed in said lower surface of said slide plate and receiving those portions of said pins projecting above said upper surface of said base plate,

0. each of said cam grooves including a first portion extending angularly with respect to the longitudinal axes of said base and slide plates and a second portion extending substantially parallel to the longitudinal axes of said base and slide plates,

p. means defining notches in said lower surface of said slide plate accommodating those portions of said means fastening said binder cover to said base plate which project above said upper surface of said base plate,

g. means defining curved binder loop segments projecting upwardly and inwardly from said upper surface of said slide plate and forming substantially semi-circular, closed binder loops with said segments on said base plate when said slide plate is in a closed position thereof with respect to said base plate, and

r. complementary socket means formed on interengaging distal portions of said binder loop segments. 

1. A binder fixture comprising: a. a stationary base plate having upper and lower surfaces, b. a plurality of binder loop segments projecting upwardly and inwardly from said base plate, c. means defining a channel in said lower surface of said base plate extending longitudinally thereof, d. a cam bar slidably received in said channel in said base plate, e. cam follower means projecting upwardly from an upper surface of said cam bar through elongated slots in said base plate above said upper surface thereof, means for sliding said cam bar in said channel, f. a slide plate having upper and lower surfaces, g. cam groove means formed in said lower surface of said slide plate extending angularly with respect to the longitudinal axis thereof and receiving said cam follower means, h. interengaging guide means formed on opposing upper and lower surfaces of said base and slide plates and guiding sliding movement of said slide plate transversely of said base plate, and i. upwardly and inwardly projecting binder loop segments mounted on said slide plate and cooperating with said binder loop segments on said base plate to define closed binder loops when said slide plate is in a closed position whereby sliding said cam bar in opposite directions, said cam follower means engages said cam groove means to move said slide plate transversely relative to said base plate and to move the binder loop segments on the respective plates towards each other to said closed position or away from each other to an open position.
 2. The binder fixture of claim 1 wherein: a. said plates are formed of a synthetic resinous material.
 3. The binder fixture of claim 2 wherein: a. said synthetic resinous material is selected from a group consisting of polypropelene and ABS.
 4. The binder fixture of claim 3 wherein: a. said synthetic resinous material is ABS.
 5. The binder fIxture of claim 1 wherein said interengaging guide means comprises: a. a plurality of transversely extending rails formed on said upper surface of said base plate and extending transversely thereof, and b. a plurality of complementary slots formed on said lower surface of said slide plate in engagement with said rails.
 6. The binder fixture of claim 5 wherein: a. said rails are of substantially T-shaped configuration, and b. said slots formed in said lower surface of said slide plate are of complementary T-shaped cross sectional configuration.
 7. The binder fixture of claim 1 wherein said cam groove means comprises: a. a camming portion extending angularly with respect to the longitudinal axes of said base and slide plates, and b. a locking portion extending parallel to the axes of said base and slide plates.
 8. A binder fixture comprising: a. an elongated stationary base plate having opposed upper and lower surfaces, b. a plurality of curved binder loop segments projecting upwardly and inwardly from said base plate, c. means defining a channel in said lower surface of said base plate extending longitudinally thereof from one end of said base plate to a point spaced from the opposite end thereof, d. means defining a pair of longitudinally spaced slots extending through said base plate at said channel, e. an elongated cam bar having a thickness approximately equal to the depth of said channel slidably received in said channel with one end of said bar projecting outwardly of said channel at said one end of said base plate, f. means defining a handle projecting from said one end of said cam bar, g. a pair of cam follower pins projecting upwardly from an upper surface of said cam bar through said spaced slots in said base plate and terminating above said upper surface of said base plate, h. a binder cover, i. fastening means attaching said binder cover to said lower surface of said base plate and confining said cam bar in said channel formed in said lower surface of said base plate, j. a plurality of substantially T-shaped rails extending transversely of said base plate on said upper surface thereof, k. an elongated slide plate having opposed upper and lower surfaces, l. said plates being formed of ABS, m. means defining substantially T-shaped slots formed in said lower surface of said slide plate extending transversely thereof and slidably receiving said substantially T-shaped rails on said upper surface of said base plate, n. a pair of cam grooves formed in said lower surface of said slide plate and receiving those portions of said pins projecting above said upper surface of said base plate, o. each of said cam grooves including a first portion extending angularly with respect to the longitudinal axes of said base and slide plates and a second portion extending substantially parallel to the longitudinal axes of said base and slide plates, p. means defining notches in said lower surface of said slide plate accommodating those portions of said means fastening said binder cover to said base plate which project above said upper surface of said base plate, g. means defining curved binder loop segments projecting upwardly and inwardly from said upper surface of said slide plate and forming substantially semi-circular, closed binder loops with said segments on said base plate when said slide plate is in a closed position thereof with respect to said base plate, and r. complementary socket means formed on interengaging distal portions of said binder loop segments. 